Wizardkind are humans born with the ability to use magic. An individual male human with magical ability, is known as a wizard (plural: wizards), and an individual female human with magical ability is known as a witch (plural: witches), though "wizard" is sometimes used as a gender-neutral singular noun like "man".

Magical ability is an inherited trait usually passed from parent to child. While pure-bloods are born of two wizarding parents and half-bloods are often born of one wizard and one muggle or muggle-born parent, Muggle-born wizards and witches are born with their magical abilities because they are distantly descended from a Squib who often marries into a Muggle family. From this point on, that branch of the wizarding family often loses all traces of its wizarding legacy, which resurfaces many generations later in a Muggle-born descendant.

Seers

Some wizards are born with abilities beyond those of the average wizard. Seers, for example, have the skill of insight into future events. They may garner this insight through visions and dreams or through scrying physical objects like tea dregs, tarot cards, and crystal balls.

Animagi

While some wizards have the ability to turn into animals, it is not an inherent power, but rather a trained technique. This type of wizard is called an Animagus (plural Animagi). Babbitty Rabbitty was said to be an Animagus with the ability to transform into a rabbit. Sirius Black was an Animagus who could turn into a black dog named Padfoot. Professor McGonagall is an Animagus who can turn into a cat. Rita Skeeter is an Animagus who can turn into a beetle and used this for gathering information for her articles. James Potter was an Animagus who could turn into a stag. Peter Pettigrew was an Animagus who could turn into a rat. He masqueraded as "Scabbers," Ron Weasley's rat, in order to convince the wizarding world that he had been killed by Sirius Black. The Animagi had to register themselves at the Ministry of Magic, because human Transfiguration can go horribly wrong. The first recorded Animagus was Falco Aesalon.

Metamorphmagi

Other wizards may have the ability to change only their physical appearance rather than their bodily form. This type of wizard is termed a Metamorphmagus. Such a wizard can change the shape of their noses, hair colour, and other physical attributes. Nymphadora Tonks and Teddy Lupin were known Metamorphmagi.

Communicating with animals

Some wizards and witches have the ability to talk to animals. For instance, a Parselmouth can speak to snakes. This ability is extremely rare. Salazar Slytherin was an infamous Parselmouth, and his descendants, such as Lord Voldemort, inherited this trait. Harry Potter also acquired this ability when part of Voldemort's soul bonded with him the night he tried to kill Harry. When the piece of Voldemort's soul inside him was destroyed, Harry lost this ability. Other wizards, like Rubeus Hagrid for example, have an innate ability to communicate and bond with all kinds of animals. Animagi have also demonstrated being able to subtly influence animals while assuming their animal forms.

Squibs

Individuals born to at least one magical parent who cannot perform magic at all past age 11 are called Squibs. Squibs are much less common than Muggle-borns.

Late-bloomers

There exist some individuals that continue to exhibit a lack of magical power past age 11 and yet spontaneously - in desperate circumstances - manage to perform magic later on in life. However, this is rare in the Harry Potter universe, possibly more so than squibs.[3]

Legilimens

Legilimens are people who can perform Legilimency. These people can tune into other people's minds, but have difficulty reading the minds of those people who can perform Occlumency. The act of Legilimens is referred to as mind reading in the Muggle world.

Wizards may live together in communities such as Godric's Hollow or Hogsmeade. Other wizards live in solitary locations such as Spinner's End or 12 Grimmauld Place. Most wizards maintain little if no contact with Muggle society and find Muggles strange and unpleasant. They are somewhat ignorant to the muggle world but in a different manner than muggles as of the Wizarding World. While Muggles are completely unaware of wizards, wizards appear to be ignorant of certain aspects of the muggle world, such as electricity and some modern technology. While certain aspects of muggle society are evident in the wizarding one, wizards seem to be a number of decades if not centuries behind muggles in other areas. In addition, wizards are sometimes just as progressive, if not more, on certain issues than their Muggle counterparts, such as women's rights.